I agree with MacAficionado - take a good look a MYOB. It contains everything that a small business needs. With one proviso - that you need to look carefully at their three different versions to decide which best suits your needs.

I've downloaded MYOB business basics to see if its exactly what i need - It might be a little over kill, i might just use a spread sheet for my income and expenditure - shouldnt be to tough - last thing i want to do is over complicate things.

It's not a software package but the Business Link site might be useful for you. It's run by the DTI and aims to give small and medium businesses a useful, easy to use guide to all the bumph you need to have.

I know it's pretty powerful, but never have used it for this sort of application.

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Filemaker itself is a lump of clay -- it has to be shaped into what you want it to do. Progrmming an accounting system is non-trivial, so you would be looking for pre-made accountiong or business management systems that ran on top of Filemaker. Filemaker.com has a list of developers and solutions. They also sell a small range of their own prepackaged solutions.

The advantage of Filemaker is that you can get data in and out of it relatively easily, and you can (in some cases) modify the solution yourself to add features that you need. Otherwise, the same rules apply, look at the solution to see if it matches your specific needs.

you may want to give RagTime a look: it ss a lot more then a "simple" spreadsheet.
Yes, you can handle invoices and such, but it will also allow you to do letters, faxes, brochures, etc. etc.
As it has not just a spreadsheet, but also a text editor, page layout, business graphics, etc. all in one application (ahh, did I mention database and Address Book links, extensive AppleScript and more).

you may want to give RagTime a look: it ss a lot more then a "simple" spreadsheet..

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The OP is looking for an accounting system, not a spreadsheet. They want the program to handle invoices, taxes, reporting etc.
While you COULD use a spreadsheet, even Appleworks, to set this up it would be WAY too much work, and catastrophically open to errors.

I run my business on my Mac. I began with MYOB FirstEdge and am in the process of upgrading to AccountEdge. FirstEdge is a very good program that is decently priced and will fit your needs. Plus, it will allow you room to grow if you so choose.

With that being said, you can also look at Quicken, which is decent for basic business needs. It may also be worth your while to visit VersionTracker and search for invoicing/accounting software. There are a few choices there and you can usually download the demo versions to see which one you like.

In my experience, though, MYOB FirstEdge is the way to go. It may look a little overkill with all of the accounts and reports that it can produce, but if your business grows (which it hopefully will!), then you will definitely need it. Plus, it is a company that has been around for a while and they regularly update their product.

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